The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1887-12-15


the text, but when he ironically conIpli-
mcntcl the putrefied Phari~-'s, saying.
"Thc whole need not physician, and
when by one word lie described the cum
ming of ITcrod. saving, Go We and tell
that fox" Matthew Henry's COM
Inentaries, from the iIrst page to the last
corrlscated with humor as summer
clouds with heat lightning. John Bun
yan's writings are as full Of humor as
they are Of saving truth, and there is not
an aged man here who has ever read
"Pilgrim's Progress who docs not re-
member that while reading it he smiled
% often rs he wept. Chrysostom, George
Herbert. Robert South, John Wesley,
George Whiteiold, Jeremy Taylor. Row
land Hill. Ncttleton, George G.. Finnev
and all the men Of the past who greatly
advanced the kingdom Of God consccrated
their wit and their humor to the cause Of
Christ. SO it has been in all the ages.
and / say to these young theological
students who cluster i'll these services
Sabbath by Sabbath, sharpen your wits
Is Keen as Cimeters, and then take them
into this holy war.
1t is a very short bridge between q
smile and q tear, suspension bridge
from eve to lip. and it is soon crossed
over, and a smile is sometimes just as
sacred as tear. There is as much re-
ligion. and | think a little more, in q
spring morning than in starleSS mid
night. Religion, work without any humor
or wit i'll it is a banquet with side of
betf. and that raw. and no condiments,
Il Il,
not sit down at such banquet. e. all
means remove all lrivolity and all baihos,
and all lightness and all vulsaiily ly-stram
them out through the sieve Of holy dis
examinations: but. on the other hand. be-
ware of that monster which oversha:!ows
the Christian church today. convention
alitv, coming up from the Great Sahara
desert of CcClesiasticism, having on its
back hump of sanctimoniouS gloom,
and velemcntly refuse TO swallow that
camel.
Oh, how particular great many peo-
pie are about the iniinitesimals while they
are quito reckless about the magntudes.
What did Christ say: Did he not eX-
coriate the people in his time who were
so careful to wash their hands before q
meal but did not wash their hearts: 1t
is a bad thing to have unclean hands; 1t
is a worse thing to have an unClean heart.
How many people there are ii our time
who are very anxious that after their
death they shall b" l4Iriod with their feet
toward the east. All 40, : I'll anxious
that during their whole lie they sslpuld
face in the right direction SO that they
shall come up in the resurrection Of the
Just whichever way they are buried. How
many there are chiefly anxious that q
minister Of the Gospel shall come in the
line of apostolic succession, not caring 80
much whether he comes from Apostle
Paul or Apostle Judas. They have q
way of measuring gnat until it is larger
than a camel.
Again, my subject photographs all
those who are abhorrent Of small sins
while they are reckless in regard to mag
nificent thcfts. You will find many Il
merchant who, while he is so ca, ful
that he would not take yard of cloth or
a spool of cotton from the counter with
out paving for it, and who if q hank
cashier should make mistake and send
in a roll of bills s. too much woull
dispatch a messenger in hot haStr' to
return the surplus, vet who will go into
q stock company in which after while
he gets control of the stock, and then
waters the stock and makes 100000
appear like $200,O00. He only stole
800. 600 by the operation. Many Of
the men of fortune made their wealth in
that wav. One of those men, engaged III
such unrightcouS acts. that evening. the
evening of the very day when he watered
the stock, will find a wharf rat stealing
o newspaper from the basement doorway.
and will 70 out and catch the urc,:.n by
the collar. and twist the collar so / ,.htly
the Door fellow cannot say that :, was
thirst for knowledge that led him To the
dishonest act, but grip the collar tighter
and tighter, saying, Il have been looking
for you a long while; you stole my raper
four or five times, haven t you: yoA 'niSer-
able wretch" And then the old stock
gambler, with a voice they can hear three
blocks, will cry out, Police. police
That same man. the evening OF thc-day
in which he watered the stock, will kneel
with his family in prayers and thank
God for the prosperity Of the day, then
kiss his children good night with an
air which seems to say, II hope you
viii all grow up to be as good as Your
father" Prisons for sins insectile il size,
but palaces for crimes dromedarian. No
mercy for sins animalcule in proportion,
but great leniency for mastOdon illiquity.
~ poor boy slyly takes from the basket of
q market woman Il choice pear-saving
some one else from the cholera-aud YOU
smother him in the horrible atmosphere
of Raymond Street Jail or New York
Tom1s. while his cousin. who has been
skillful enough to steal $50, 900 from the
city. you will make him a candidate for
the New York legislature!
There is great deal of uneasincsS and
nervousness now among some people IN
our time who have gotten unrighteous
fortunes, q great deal of nervousness
about dynamite tell them that God
will put under their unrighteous fortunes
something more explosive than dyna-
mite, the earthquake of his omnipotent
indignation. 1t is time that we learn in
America that sin is not eXcusaLle i'll pro-
portion as it declares large divi lends and
has outriders in equipage. Many a man
is riding to perditon, position ahead and
lackev behind. To steal one copy of
newspaper is a gnat; to steal many thous-
ands Of dollars is a camel. There is Iaany
a fruit dealer who would not consent to
steal a basket of peaches from neigh
boris stall, but who would not scruple to
depress the fruit market; and as long as
| can remember we have heard every
summer the peach crop of Maryland
is failure, and by the time the crop